April 11, 2023 - 0 comments
Have you tried Holy Chapel by the Brand Brothers? It's an exceptional Pinot Blanc grown on a small hill where an old chapel stands. The plot has been special to humans for thousands of years; the Celtics had a sacrificing stone there, where they would sacrifice animals to their gods. Later, the Catholic Church took over and built the 'Heiligen Kirche', German for Holy Chapel.
The hill where the chapel stands has a deep water source inside it and extremely fertile 'Löss' soil. This leads to the vines growing lush and green, even in drier years. The Pinot Blanc for this bottle makes up about 0.3 hectares of the land.
But how does it taste? On the nose, you're hit with ripe apples, lemon zest, and a hint of fresh shoes (not in a bad way, the kind of smell you get when you excitedly open a box of your favourite new sneakers). The taste is incredible. It's full of energy and life, ripe with notes of pear, citrus, a touch of salt, and beautifully balanced minerality. The acidity is precise, sharp, and long. Whites are often paired with lighter dishes, but this could work wonders with delicious pork belly or duck confit, with the acidity and flavors cutting through.
The two Brand Brothers, Daniel and Jonas, are the fifth generation to make wine in Bockenheim, a town in the Pfalz wine region of Germany. Holy Chapel is hand-picked, foot-stomped, then left for 18 hours on the skins. Afterward, it's pressed and left to ferment in 1200L barrels, no filtration and no sulfites added (not even a little).
One final point worth mentioning is the Brand Brothers' 'Shake&Wait' philosophy. They actually rack the wine clear, then taste the wine and the lees separately. They then decide how much of the lees to include in the bottle for the perfect taste. They ask the drinker to take their bottles and 'Shake&Wait'. This mixes all the goodness together for the best flavor. We also recommend tasting their Wilder Satz, Pet Nat Rosé, and Wildrosé. Delicious!
Country: Germany
Region: Pfalz
Grapes: Pinot Blanc
Vintage: 2018 Music pairing:
Eins Zwo - Danke Gut
